Water heater



July 21, 1925. 1,546,823

J. s. BRENNAN WATER HEATER Filed Aug. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l IQ J N July21, 1925.

' J. S. BRENNAN WATER HEATER Filed Aug. 8. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (rum3&4

Patented July 21, 1925.

JOHN S. BRENNAN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

WATER HEATER.

Application filed August 28, 1922.

To all; 1071 0722, it may concern.

Be it known that T, Jot-IN S. BRENNAN, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/VaterHeaters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof. 7

This invention relates to hot water heaters of the type in which aburner is located adjacent the lower portion of a casing and a watercoil or pipe is located above the burner and within the casing.

In hot water heaters as heretofore constructed, difliculty has beenexperienced due to condensation of moisture upon the outer surface ofthe coils or pipes. These heaters are usually connected witha hot watertank in which the heated water is stored. When, however, water is drawnfrom the tank, it frequently happens that all of the hot water iswithdrawn and cold water is then drawn from the tank. \Vhen this occurs,cold ater circulates through the heating coils thereby chilling them andcausing moisture in the products of combustion to condense upon theouter surface of the coils. This water drips or runs down the coils andfalls upon the burners, thereby markedly interfering with theiroperation and frequently completely extinguishing the fire. Other cause,such as defective relative arrangement of pipe connection with the tankmay cause this undesirable circulation of cold water through the heatingcoils, with the consequent detrimental results.

It is to overcome these defects that the present invention is designed,and it is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide aheater in which condensation will not interfere with the burner or flameor with the efficient operation of the heater.

Further objects are to provide a hot water heater in which the lowerheader performs the dual function of a distributor of the incoming waterto the coils, and of means for taking care of the drip or condensation;to provide a hot water heater in which the coils substantially fill thecasing thereby retarding the flow of products of combustion sufficientlyto allow the maximum amount of heat to be extracted therefrom; and toprovide a heater in which the support or base further cooperates withthe heater to catch Serial No. 584,689.

any excessive drip and allow it to subsequen tly evaporate.

T his invention is applicable to any type of hot water heater, whetherit employs gas, oil, alcohol, or other fuel. However, the embodiment ofthe inventor chosen for illustra tion, is an oil burning heater; but itis to be taken as illustrative rather than limiting, as the invention isto be limited only as set forth in the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a heater with parts broken away to showthe interior construction.

Figru'e 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 5?. of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the lower header, such sectionbeing taken on -the line 33 of Figure l.

1 Figure at is a plan view of the lower neader.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the casing and heatingcoils.

, Fi ure 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the upper header.

The device comprises a casing which may be formed of two substantiallysimilar half sections, and comprises an enlarged. oval shaped bottomportion 1 and cylindrical portion 2 extending upwardly therefrom andterminating in the cap 3 provided with, a flue receiving aperture Thesehalf sections may be joined at several points by means of the bolts 5passing through the apertured ears formed integrally with the halfsections. The rear half section is provided with a. downwardly extendinglug 6 to which is riveted the upper end of a stand ard 7 and the lowerend of said stand ard being secured to an upward projecting portion 8 ofa base 9. This base or support is provided with the recessed portion 10011 its upper side for a purpose hereinafter de: scribed. The front halfsection is cut out adjacent its lower edge and is provided with apivotally mounted door 11 which in Figure 1 is shown in its upwardlyextending position and Figure 2 in its closed position. This door isadapted to be received in catch 12 when it is closed or in its lowermostposition.

The pair of burners indicated generally at 13 and 1d are mounted withinthe lower portion of the enlarged oval shaped portion 1 of the casing.They are fed from a tank or container 15 by means of a main supply pipe16 and branch pipes 17, such branch pipes being independently controlledby means of the manually adjustable valves 18. The burner and supplytank structure may be supported by means of a bracket 19 and secured tothe standard 7 by clips 20 clamped around the pipe 16.

As may be seen from Figure 5 a plurality of heating elements in the formof helical coils of pipe 22 substantially fill the interior portion ofthe cylindrical part 2 of the casing. These coils are mounted between,coinmunicate with, and are supported by upper and lower headers 23 and24;, respectively. These headers are each provided with an enlarged orflanged portion 25 received in a suitable aperture in the rear halfsection of the casing, and have projecting therefrom, a threadedextension 26. The cold water supply pipe 27 and the hot water supplypipe 28 may be attached to the extension 26 by means of an internallythreaded sleeve or union 29, such sleeves also serving to clamp theheaders in position. The ends of the coils of pipes 22 may be brazed orwelder within apertured bosses 30, formed upon the sides of the upperheader and within apertured bosses 31 extending upwardly from lowerheader as may be seen from Figures 4 and 6.

The lower header 24; is of oval shape and is provided with a depressedor hollow upper portion which may be formed by the wall 32 and themarginal flange 33. The marginal flange may be provided with one or morenotches 3% as may be seen from Figures 1 and 1. The lower portion orbottom wall of this header merges into a downwardly extending point orapex 35. This apex or downwardly extending projecting portion 35 islocated between the burners 13 and 14.

This hot water heater is protected against harmful effects fromcondensed moisture upon the outer surface of the coils 22, whichcondensation may be caused by inadvertentcirculation of cold waterthrough the coils while the heater is in operation. Any condensationwhich is formed will be caught by the depressed upper portion of thelower header. lVhen sufficient liquid has been caught by the header itwill flow through the notched portion and will be guided downwardly tothe lowest portion thereof, i. e. to the projecting portion 35. It is tobe noted that this portion 35 is located between the burners anddirectly above the hollow portion 10 of the base or support 9. Anywater, therefore, that drips from this downwardly projecting portionwill be caught in the hollow base and can subse quently evaporate.

It will be seen, therefore, that a hot water heater has been provided,in which condensation upon the outer surface of the coils is preventedfrom interfering with the eflicient operation of the burners.

1t vill further be seen due to the close positioning of the coils 22which substantially fill the cylindrical portion 2 of the casing, thatthe maximum of heat is extracted from the products of combustion.

It will further be seen that the lower header serves the dual purpose ofa header and of means for catching any moisture that may drip from thecoils.

It will further be seen that even the prolonged circulation of coldwater through the heating coils, from any cause whatsoever, will not atany time interfere with the nornial operation of the burners asprovision has been made for taking care of any water which may flow fromthe header without allowing such water to contact with the burners.

What is claimed is:

A water heater comprising a pair of spaced burners, a casing mountedabove said burners and having a hood enclosing the upper portion of saidburners and contracting to a cylindrical upper portion extendingvertically upwardly from said hood, a heating coil located within thecylindrical por tion of said casing, a lower header located within saidhood and conforming roughly to the outline of said hood and spacedtherefrom and located above said burners and communicating with thelower end of said heating coil, said lower header having an upturnedmarginal flange provided with a notch and having a downwardly taperedlower portion terminating in a point, said point forming the lowermostportion of said header and being located between said burners, wherebycondensation caught by said header will flow through said notch anddownwardly along the tapered lower surface of said header and will fallbetween the burners from the pointed lower end of said header.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of isconsin.

JOHN S. BRENNAN

